Biodiversity Nature

Monday, 11 August 2014

It
was a relaxed, peaceful morning at the Durban Botanical Gardens on 16th
May, 2013. I was on my way back to Johannesburg, but decided to spend a few
hours strolling through the lush sub-tropical gardens in the hope of
photographing a few birds.

The
birds were plentiful, with a feeding mob of bronze manikins (Spermestes cucullatus) having breakfast,
a family of Egyptian geese (Alopochen
aegyptiaca) strolling on the grass, two dark-capped bulbuls (Pycnonotus tricolor) exploring a leafy
tree, a spur-winged goose (Plectropterus
gambensis) resting next to the pond, a fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) surveying the
gardens and grey herons (Ardea cinerea)
perched precariously on the top-most branches of tall trees.

Then
I saw the bizarre African spoonbill (Platalea
alba) giving me a rather peculiar stare, like some aristocrat rudely
interrupted on the golf course. The bright pinkish red stilt-like legs, flattened
spoonbill and puffy white feathers stood out starkly against the lush green
background. It resumed its walk around the pond, all the while giving me a
sideways glance every time the cameras shutter clicked.

The
‘aristocrat’ was soon joined by his ‘caddy’, presumably a juvenile judging by
the black legs and bill. Of course this could have been a mother and sibling,
but my bird skills don’t go so far as differentiating between male and female
spoonbills. I watched these two for almost an hour before heading back to the
car park.

What’s in the
name?

Platalea is derived from
Latin, meaning spoonbill, a name used by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43BC), a
Roman philosopher, orator and politician. The species name alba is Latin for white, referring to the snowy white plumage of
these birds. The common name spoonbill refers to the distinctive spatula-like
bill.

Distribution

African
spoonbills are widely distributed throughout southern Africa and are
particularly common around Highveld wetlands as well as the eastern coastal
regions. Their range has expanded over time with the development of man-made
dams in the drier regions of South Africa.

Feeding

The
bill is uniquely designed for feeding in the water. Spoonbills swing their
heads from side to side in a wide arc, with the bill slicing through the water
and snapping up aquatic invertebrates such as molluscs, as well as small fish
and probably tadpoles as well.

Breeding

African
spoonbills are monogamous and egg-laying in South Africa takes place between
February to November. Females lay 2-4 long oval eggs and these hatch after an
incubation period of 25-29 days. Apparently the female sits on the eggs during
the day and the male takes over during the evening. Juveniles leave the colony
at around five weeks.

Monday, 30 June 2014

There are some animals that just seem to exist to be
eaten and the rock hyrax is one of them. Ever weary of an attack from above,
these creatures still fall victim to birds of prey and make up a substantial
part of the diet of the Verreaux’s Eagle (Aquila
verreauxii). Crowned Eagles (Stephanoeatus
coronatus) also like them. And so do leopards and caracals. And let’s not
forget pythons and black mambas too.

In an evolutionary race to avoid predation, rock hyraxes
have developed an ‘umbraculum’- a type of shield in the eye to counter the
effect of the glaring sun and hopefully spot an airborne strike from an approaching
eagle before it’s too late. Often it is. It is usually an older female that
acts as a sentinel and stands guard over the colony. When danger approaches,
she lets out a sharp bark which sends everyone scuttling to safety within their
rocky retreats. One can only imagine that from time to time, she nods off to
the detriment of her or some unfortunate individual in the colony, who is
whisked off impaled in the sharp talons of a hunting eagle.

Dit is n dassie

In South Africa, these mammals are often called rock
dassies. Dassie is derived from the Dutch word ‘das’ and referable to badger,
which is apparently the closet animal the early Dutch settlers could relate
this little fury animal to.

Hyraxes are distantly related to elephants and the
enigmatic dugong, stemming from the same ancient evolutionary line. However,
modern hyraxes are placed in their own mammal order, the Hyracoidea. Three
species are known from South Africa. The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), is the most widespread, occurring throughout
much of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. It co-exists in Limpopo Province
with the Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax (Heterohyrax
brucei).

The third species is the Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus), which in South Africa, occurs in a patch
along the coastal parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Every now and
then, the Tree Hyrax scares the living daylights out of some poor soul when
they let out a haunting scream. This piercing scream emanating from a dark
forest is an experience you won’t soon forget.

Up close

A few years ago, on 21 April 2012, I was fortunate to
come across a small colony of rock hyraxes while ambling through the bush at
Luiperdskloof in north-eastern Gauteng. The hyraxes quickly relaxed in my
presence and I was able to observe them for an hour or two with their activity
taking place a few metres from where I was sitting.

These
are always special moments when you’re alone in the bush in the company of
interesting creatures. Earlier that morning I had seen the resident pair of
Verreaux’s Eagles take flight, so I was surprised that they were so relaxed in
my presence. I was happy, as it gave me a great opportunity to get some nice
photos of these interesting little mammals.For more information on rock hyraxes, visit: http://www.biodiversitynature.com/rock-hyrax-procavia-capensis/

Sunday, 8 June 2014

The word chameleon is derived from the Greek words khamai meaning ‘on the ground’ and leon meaning ‘lion’. Exactly why they
coined this name is not known, as chameleons are certainly not the equivalent
of a lion. Non-the-less, they are fascinating creatures in their own right.

Chameleons are reptiles, and more precisely, lizards.
There are slightly over 200 described species. Chameleons are found throughout
Africa and Madagascar, as well as Arabia, India, Sri Lanka and southern Europe.
There is even a chameleon on the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean.

South Africa has a rich diversity of dwarf chameleons in
the genus Bradypodion. There are
currently 17 described species, almost all of them occur within the borders of
South Africa. Some have very restricted distributions.

10 dwarf chameleons are of conservation concern, largely
due to habitat loss and environmental degradation. While some species adapt
well to urban gardens, others have more specialised requirements and do not do well
when their habitat is transformed.

Endangered species

There are three endangered species. The Umlalazi dwarf chameleon
Bradypodion caeruleogula was only
formally described in 2008. It occurs forest patches in northern KwaZulu-Natal
and is threatened by habitat destruction. The Pondo dwarf chameleon Bradypodion caffer is another endangered
species found in the Eastern Cape.

The Elandsberg dwarf chameleon Bradypodion taeniabronchum is also endangered and found in two
disjunct mountain ranges – the Elandsberg and Kareedouw mountains.

Vulnerable species

The Kentani dwarf chameleon Bradypodion kentanicum from the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu dwarf chameleon
Bradypodion melanocephalum from
KwaZulu-Natal, the Cape dwarf chameleon Bradypodion
pumilum and the midlands dwarf chameleon Bradypodion thamnobates, also from KwaZulu-Natal, are all listed as
Vulnerable under the latest conservation assessment. They are all threatened by
urban development and habitat alteration.

Near threatened
species

Three dwarf chameleons fall into the ‘near threatened’
category. These include the Drakensberg dwarf chameleon Bradypodion dracomontanum from the Drakensberg Mountain range in
KwaZulu-Natal, the Qudeni dwarf chameleon Bradypodion
nemorale from KwaZulu-Natal and the Ngome dwarf chameleon Bradypodion ngomeense also from KwaZulu-Natal.
Like the Umlalazi dwarf chameleon, the Qudeni and Ngome dwarfs only occur in
remnant patches of indigenous forest.

Vivid colouration

The dwarf chameleons are arguably some of our most attractive
and colourful reptiles. While most dwarf chameleons are a drab brown colour,
some are exceptionally brightly coloured, especially in breeding males. The
Cape dwarf chameleon is often green with red and orange hues. The Knysna dwarf
chameleon is particularly attractive with flashes of emerald green and
turquoise blue.

Reproduction

All
South African dwarf chameleons give birth to live young; they don’t lay eggs
like the larger common flap-necked chameleon Chamaeleo dilepis. Some may produce more than one litter in a
season. The Knysna dwarf chameleon is recorded as having 6-20 young in the
summer and the KwaZulu dwarf chameleon up to 12 young during summer.For more on dwarf chameleons, visit: http://www.biodiversitynature.com/category/lizards/chamaeleonidae-chameleons/